Jennfer Lopez Regains Greatness On New Album

Jennifer Lopez released her eighth album A.K.A last month and it's great. After a few decent albums, Lopez finally stepped up her game.
Whether aiming at the dance floor on songs like "Booty" which features Pitbull, Lopez is at her best. "Tens" which is a bonus track on the deluxe edition features Jack Mizrahi is a dance anthem about fashion and attitude. The album's best song is the title track which features T.I. The song is a hip hop anthem about leaving a lover behind.
"Now I'm Mrs. never stick around/ A.K.A/ Never hold you down/ A.K.A/ Can't figure it out/ A.K.A/ You don’t know me now, oh/ You don’t know me now," Lopez sings with attitude during the chorus.
"I Luh Ya Papi" which features French Montana is an ode to Latino men and sex. "Acting Like That" is a slow hip hop song that features Iggy Azalea. "First Love" is a poppy song about finding true love.
A.K.A. also houses some of Lopez's most effective ballads. "Never Satisfied" is an R&B ballad about Lopez being hard to please in relationships. "Let it Be Me" is a gorgeous acoustic love ballad.
While most of the songs on this record are great some could be done without. "Worry No More" featuring Rick Ross is stupid and a waste of time. "Emotions" is an overdramatic ballad that doesn't really go anywhere. Both of these songs are nowhere near as good as the original first single that was later scrapped for the album, "Live it Up" which featured Pitbull and was a fun dance anthem about living life to it's fullest and having a good time. For the life of me I can't figure out why this song wasn't huge. It had the perfect carefree attitude and club ready sound that should have made it a shoe in at Top 40 Radio.
While there are these unfortunate mistakes, Lopez still shines on tracks like bonus tracks "Same Girl" featuring French Montana, "Troubleaux" which features Nas and the best bonus cut "Exertease (Ready Set Go)."
This album mixes in all of Lopez's strengths and explores many different genres. This is a victory for Lopez. While sales have been low for this record I have hope that this record will eventually explode and a big hit single will bring new life into the album.

Iggy Azalea Is Classic on Debut Album

Australian rapper Iggy Azalea's debut album The New Classic was released last month and it really is a classic. The album mixes in hip hop with elements of dance, reggae and trap music.
The album's best songs have been released as singles. "Work" was the album's first single. This song is very personal and deals with Azalea's rise to fame. Azalea came to Miami at the age of 16 to try her hand at modeling. It deals with her struggle to make it as well as her work ethic.
"I been up all night/ Tryna get that rich/ I've been work work work work workin' on my shit," Azalea sings during the chorus.
Third and fourth singles "Change Your Life" which features T.I. and "Fancy" which features Charli XCX are the album's two best songs. "Change Your Life" is a dance inspired song that deals with living the high life. This theme is carried over into "Fancy." The Charli XCX assisted song is a sassy bad bitch anthem that is currently blowing up radio speakers around the world. These two songs are the best because they are so fun and are sure to get parties started for a long time coming.
"Black Widow" is the album's upcoming fifth single. The song was co-written by Katy Perry and features British pop singer Rita Ora on the chorus. The song is a breakup anthem that is similar to Perry's hit "Dark Horse."
While the album is great, there are some songs that don't quite hold up next to the rest. "100" which features Watch The Duck is a silly hip hop anthem about keeping it real. "New Bitch" is a boring song that is about a new relationship. These songs could easily have been cut.
However Azalea makes up for it on bangers like "Goddess," Impossible is Nothing" and "Walk the Line." Other highlights include "Fuck Love" and "Lady Patra" which features reggae singer Mavado.
In a world where new rappers suck, Iggy Azalea is a breath of fresh air. The New Classic may not be perfect but it's most likely going to be one of the best hip hop albums of the year, if not the best.